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Georgiana Westerberg
Appearance The features of her heart-shaped face are delicate, but her expression is frequently less so. More often than not, a pair of dark blue almond-shaped eyes seem shadowed with a mixture of worry and distraction, and her naturally pouting lips are pressed together in a line of something resembling disapproval. While she has retained her abilities to laugh and smile for others on command, privately she very little of either. Her thick, jet black hair is nearly always carefully upswept and pinned, or braided and coiled at the nape of her neck. When unbound, it flows in a straight fall to the small of her back and its weight has been the source of frequently occurring headaches lately, although she attributes them to stress. In public, her dress is carefully chosen to show her station, but not so extravagant to attract gossip and unwanted attention. She prefers fabrics of deep jewel tones, well-tailored gowns and sensible shoes; being on her feet for most of the day, she has learned the many merits of sensible shoes. Often there is a touch of color smudged over her eyelids, a hint of rouge on her cheeks. A naturally fair-skinned woman, Georgiana is as careful with her cosmetics as she is with her clothing, knowing how easy it is to overdo it with color and wind up looking like a common courtesan. Her jewelery is somewhat austere, favoring silver metals, and there is a mark on her wedding ring finger where a band had once covered. History Born the middle child of three girl children, Georgiana quickly surpassed both her sisters not only in height, but in having a brain and ambition. Neither did her much good, as she was born into the Westerberg family of Starkhaven, a very old and prestigious bloodline, if not really among one of the most wealthy. Her parents gently, but firmly, discouraged Georgiana from pursuing studies abroad and did their best to guide their quarrelsome middle child onto a path that would help her procure a good marriage and prosperous future. Suitor after suitor was rejected by the most difficult (and some men would say, the prettiest) Westerberg daughter, often out of some kind of misguided teenage rebellion against parents who just "didn't understand her". The one proposal she finally did accept was someone her mother and father had ''not''attempted to arrange her with, thus making him a great deal more appealing to the young woman. Lord Marten Ingledye of Kirkwall was twice her age, twice a widower, and of somewhat dubious standing in relation to Georgiana's own respectable heritage. A nobleman lately come into his title, he was no great lover or even particularly warm towards his young bride, most of the time treating her with marked disinterest and spending his time immersed in his own lifestyle and, it was rumored, his own lowborn mistress. She had married him to get away from a family she did not feel she fit in with, and he had married her for the prestige her name carried. Lord Ingledye wasn't even terribly concerned with fathering further heirs, having four children from two previous wives. She had made a terrible mistake, but there was little to be done about it. Instead, Georgiana focused on carving out whatever life she could in her new home of Kirkwall. She was active in literary circles in the city, patronizing various aspiring writers and poets throughout the Free Marches, and raising funds for multiple charities through the hosting of banquets and parties. Her husband's children also became a part of her life, and despite having little knowledge of child-rearing, did what she could to see to their welfare and give them at least something resembling mothering. Her family had little contact with her in the four years of her marriage to Lord Marten, never once visiting Kirkwall and often letting their lingering sense of disapproval at the marriage into their letters. Eventually Georgiana stopped writing them, and they her. It was only her husband's extremely sudden death at the age of forty that pushed her mother and father to write to her again, begging her to return to Starkhaven since she was "free to do so". Embittered by what she felt was their neglect during their years apart, her parents' pleas fell on deaf ears and hardened her resolve to stay in Kirkwall. A fight over Marten's estate broke out among the relatives of his children's mothers. None of them had any interest in letting Georgiana continue to raise the children, and they demanded a splitting of Marten's fortune for the benefit of his heirs. Prepared to fight them tooth and nail for every last copper, she found she could not see her stepchildren as her enemies and in one of the few instances of swift capitulation in her life, did as she was requested. It left her with a decent sum of money, but far less than what she had counted upon to retain her current lifestyle in Kirkwall. The Ingledye estate was quickly sold, and Georgiana found more modest accommodations in Hightown that were nonetheless suitable. Needing a source of actual income, Georgiana purchased a foundering printing business. With her ties to many aspiring writers, she began publishing new and previously unprinted works, many of which saw almost immediate success. It resulted in popularity not only for the authors and a degree of notoriety for her venture. Lately she has begun to learn the actual trade of printing, and can be found at the printing blocks learning the craft from her small staff of employees. She is known once again by her maiden name of Westerberg and has accepted no courters since the death of her late husband. Timeline Relationships Category:Character Index Category:Original Characters Category:Nobility Category:Marchers